Tristan ClumNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Spencer Beckwith covers the performing arts in Northern and Central New Mexico for KUNM.NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Spencer Beckwith On The ArtsTue, 12 Dec 2017 09:37:07 +0000Spencer Beckwith On The Artshttp://kunm.org
Spencer BeckwithAmerican music lost an important voice in 2014. Stephen Paulus , internationally-known for his choral compositions and operas, passed away at 65. One of his last major works was an opera for families based on a story by New Mexico writer Peggy Pond Church. Shoes for the Santo Niño was originally presented in 2011 by the University of New Mexico, which commissioned it, in conjunction with the Santa Fe Opera. The Opera brings it back this month for holiday performances .Remembering Stephen Paulus, Composer Of Shoes For The Santo Niñohttp://kunm.org/post/remembering-stephen-paulus-composer-shoes-santo-ni-o
96871 as http://kunm.orgThu, 30 Nov 2017 17:00:10 +0000Remembering Stephen Paulus, Composer Of Shoes For The Santo NiñoSpencer BeckwithFifth graders in Santa Fe will perform for the community this month in a program of "tall tales" that they themselves have conceived and written. The dual-language performance, on November 29 and 30 at Teatro Paraguas , is part of an after-school program called Storytellers & Writers , which works with kids in New Mexico who need extra help reading, writing and speaking English. "The program is so much fun that the kids develop confidence speaking their thoughts and expressing themselves," says Carol Aubrey, the founder and director of Storytellers & Writers. "There's so much to be said for when kids are telling their own stories -- they're free." In this more complete version of the conversation, Carol explains that Storytellers & Writers is a recent offshoot of a nationwide, federally-funded supplemental education program she began in 2008 and that ended in 2016.Telling Stories, Learning Englishhttp://kunm.org/post/telling-stories-learning-english
96536 as http://kunm.orgFri, 24 Nov 2017 17:03:00 +0000Telling Stories, Learning EnglishSpencer BeckwithThe great issue facing the film industry these days is inclusion. How to increase the involvement in the industry of underrepresented communities: African-Americans, women, Asians, Latinos, and Native Americans. The question of inclusion is also central to Albuquerque's Pueblo Film Fest . The fourth annual event takes place November 17-19 at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The festival offers Pueblo filmmakers what they most need right now, says the event's organizer, Bettina Sandoval of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. "Getting their film out there, telling their story. That's what they really want to do -- share their perspective." Bettina talks about the films scheduled for the three days of the Pueblo Film Fest in this longer version of the conversation and describes some of the Fest's workshops and panels.A Forum For Pueblo Filmmakershttp://kunm.org/post/forum-pueblo-filmmakers
95865 as http://kunm.orgFri, 10 Nov 2017 17:06:00 +0000A Forum For Pueblo FilmmakersSpencer BeckwithSince last spring, Santa Fe Community College has had access to a stockpile of decommissioned firearms. Using the college's forging and welding facilities, students and faculty in the Art Department have transformed these metal parts into sculpture and jewelry, works of art that will be displayed this month and then auctioned off to benefit New Mexicans To Prevent Gun Violence and SFCC scholarships. The Guns to Art Benefit show runs November 7-17 at form & concept in Santa Fe; a reception and live auction takes place on November 17. The forging class at the college is led by noted Santa Fe sculptor Jeremy Thomas. "Iron is a mobile material," says Thomas. "It can transfer from one object to another, and deny its past usage and become something completely different. It's the old idea of weapons to plowshares." In a more complete version of the interview, Thomas shares a discussion he had with his SFCC students about how they might want to make art with decommissioned guns. "AnyBeating Weapons Into Artworkshttp://kunm.org/post/beating-weapons-artworks
95623 as http://kunm.orgFri, 03 Nov 2017 15:54:56 +0000Beating Weapons Into ArtworksSpencer BeckwithHis iridescent shapes float in 3-dimensional space, an exploration of the mysteries of light. "Some people, it puts them in a state of almost infancy," says August Muth of his holographic art. "They can't resist the temptation to touch the light." The Santa Fe artist's latest works are on view through November 9 at the Canyon Road gallery, OTA Contemporary . Gallery visitors, says Muth, "experience something they don't experience normally: light in space. 'How can this blue rectangle exist in space? Where is it? I have to touch it.' " In this longer version of the conversation, Muth talks about the technical and scientific underpinnings of the holographic phenomenon, and he describes the historical processes and materials he has adapted to create his contemporary holographic works. Short videos of three of August Muth's recent holographic works: https://vimeo.com/192724990The Magical Art Of The Hologram http://kunm.org/post/magical-art-hologram
95060 as http://kunm.orgFri, 27 Oct 2017 15:58:00 +0000The Magical Art Of The Hologram Spencer BeckwithIf you've visited the Maxwell Museum at the University of New Mexico, you might have noticed in its side courtyard a 40-foot-tall totem pole. That pole has been standing outside on the Albuquerque campus for over 70 years. This year, it was brought inside, not just for a much-needed restoration but also to answer some pressing questions about its provenance. Research by retired UNM professor Dr. Beverly Singer and her UNM colleagues discovered that the pole was commissioned in 1907 by the Smith Family, members of the Tlowitsis Nation on Turnour Island, off the coast of British Columbia. The pole was illegally removed from that site in 1941 by Frank Hibben, then a young anthropologist on the UNM faculty. Dr. Singer joins us to talk about the agreement that has been made between UNM and Smith Family descendants for the pole's future. In this longer version of the interview, Dr. Singer speaks in greater detail about her role in the research that led to information about the origins of theUNM Makes Amends For A Stolen Totem Polehttp://kunm.org/post/unm-makes-amends-stolen-totem-pole
94652 as http://kunm.orgSat, 07 Oct 2017 00:30:53 +0000UNM Makes Amends For A Stolen Totem PoleSpencer BeckwithWhen he was a teenager living in northern New Mexico in the 1970's, Tom Joyce apprenticed himself to a local blacksmith. Over the next decades, those skills, along with his unusual rapport with iron and steel, led Tom Joyce to a career as an artist of forged metal. He was recognized with a MacArthur "Genius" Grant in 2003. His latest sculptures are on display through 2017 at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe. Tom felt comfortable the first time he entered that blacksmith shop in the village of El Rito. "It was fascinating to me that iron, seemingly so strong and intractable, could move so supplely and seductively." That impression continues to inform his work. "You'll notice with almost all the sculptures that, though solid and heavy and hard, they feel soft and, in some ways, buoyant and light." Tom's home-based studio is in Santa Fe, but he creates his sculptures at an industrial factory in Chicago. In this longer version of the interview, Tom talks about the forgingTom Joyce, Sculptor In Ironhttp://kunm.org/post/tom-joyce-sculptor-iron
94334 as http://kunm.orgFri, 29 Sep 2017 15:43:00 +0000Tom Joyce, Sculptor In IronSpencer BeckwithOn the night of September 23, the facade of the historic La Fonda Hotel in Taos will be illuminated by patterns and images created by the Japanese-born, Brooklyn-based artist Motomichi . The display is part of the Paseo , Taos's 4th annual celebration of art and community. And projected right alongside Motomichi's display, and complementing it, will be art created by Taos students. Motomichi's theme for his display is monsters . Agnes Chavez, co-founder and co-director of the festival, explains that the Paseo challenged all middle- and high-school students in Taos County to design monsters of their own. Almost 500 monsters were submitted by students to the Paseo, and fifty have been selected to be projected on the walls of Taos Plaza. Agnes gives a fuller description of the Monster Design Challenge in this more complete version of the interview. She also talks about what will be happening in Taos Plaza on Saturday night, September 23 -- lots of "fire and monsters and light and sound."The Paseo's Design Challenge For Taos Students http://kunm.org/post/paseos-design-challenge-taos-students
94033 as http://kunm.orgFri, 22 Sep 2017 15:49:00 +0000The Paseo's Design Challenge For Taos Students Spencer BeckwithThe Montage Music Society commissions and performs music composed in response to visual art, and every concert includes projections of the art that inspired the music being performed. Pianist Debra Ayers and her Montage colleagues wanted to address the fear many people have of new music. "Let's help the audience get their imaginations going, hearing music and seeing the visuals that inspired the music." Montage has found that the experience changes the way audiences listen. The Society will perform this month at a private home in Santa Fe and in early October at the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art in Roswell.Transforming The Visual Into The Musicalhttp://kunm.org/post/transforming-visual-musical
93506 as http://kunm.orgFri, 15 Sep 2017 15:15:00 +0000Transforming The Visual Into The MusicalSpencer BeckwithThe late 1920's was the golden age of movie palaces, those elaborate showcases for films and stage shows. Albuquerque got one in 1927, the KiMo , which this month celebrates its 90th birthday. But the KiMo was different from other movie palaces, with a style all its own: architecture and decoration unique to the Southwest. Professor Chris Wilson, from the UNM School of Architecture & Planning's Landscape Architecture Department , joins us to discuss "Pueblo Deco," the popular but short-lived hybrid of the Art Deco and Pueblo Revival styles, which, he says, reached its "apotheosis" in the KiMo. In this longer version of the interview, Professor Wilson discusses the builder of the KiMo, Albuquerque businessman Oreste Bachechi, and its architect, Carl Boller. To learn more about the KiMo and its architecture, take a look at Pueblo Deco (Rizzoli 1990) by UNM graduate Carla Breeze.The KiMo (And Pueblo Deco) At 90http://kunm.org/post/kimo-and-pueblo-deco-90
93260 as http://kunm.orgFri, 01 Sep 2017 15:29:00 +0000The KiMo (And Pueblo Deco) At 90Spencer BeckwithA new contemporary art museum is looking for an innovative light fixture to welcome visitors into its lobby. That was the fictional problem posed to design students at universities throughout the country in the 2017 Robert Bruce Thompson Student Light Fixture Design Competition . Two of the top three honors in the competition went to students at the University of New Mexico's School of Architecture & Planning , Madison Wickstrom and Arjun Bhakta. Madison, who graduated this spring, joined us at KUNM to talk about her design. She proposed "light walls" that "glow from within by LED panels," and which visitors are encouraged to write and draw on. Click here to view Madison's design submission.UNM Students Take National Design Honorshttp://kunm.org/post/unm-students-take-national-design-honors
92504 as http://kunm.orgFri, 11 Aug 2017 16:16:00 +0000UNM Students Take National Design HonorsSpencer Beckwith"One forges one's style on the terrible anvil of deadlines." So said prolific writer Émile Zola. Albuquerque's Blackout Theatre Company challenges local theater artists to a 24-hour deadline -- they have just one day to write and stage a new one-act play. The various results, 24/7, will be performed for the public on August 12. Blackout company member Heather Yeo says the short deadline encourages the participants to "take artistic risks, big choices, that they might talk themselves out of if they had weeks to prepare."Being Creative With Their Feet To The Flamehttp://kunm.org/post/being-creative-their-feet-flame
92118 as http://kunm.orgFri, 04 Aug 2017 15:51:00 +0000Being Creative With Their Feet To The FlameSpencer BeckwithOne of the ways in which the University of New Mexico collaborates with the City of Albuquerque is through the City's Public Art Urban Enhancement Division, which supports Albuquerque's fine arts projects. The Division and UNM joined forces in 2015 to create an off-campus gallery that showcases student artists alongside local artists. The College of Fine Arts (CFA) Downtown Studio is located just off Central at 4th and Copper. Directing the gallery and performance space is UNM graduate student, artist Lara Goldmann. The benefits of the gallery for the students are clear, she says: "broadening the audience and connecting with the community, as well as working in a more professional setting."Art Students Meet The Wider World (And Vice Versa)http://kunm.org/post/art-students-meet-wider-world-and-vice-versa
91580 as http://kunm.orgFri, 21 Jul 2017 16:13:00 +0000Art Students Meet The Wider World (And Vice Versa)Spencer BeckwithFor the past five years, young composers who are out on their own for the first time and discovering what it means to be professional have found themselves invited to spend a week at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival . The seven-day workshop centers on a string quartet written especially for Santa Fe and includes rehearsals and discussions with the Flux Quartet and then a performance of the new works in a Festival concert . The Festival's Artistic Director, composer Marc Neikrug, says the Young Composers String Quartet Project was designed for young people out of the university and halfway into the professional world. "I'm looking for the ones that have come to a level where they can work with professionals, and quickly, and the ones who show real promise, real talent, real profundity."Young Composers Get A Taste Of The Professional World In Santa Fehttp://kunm.org/post/young-composers-get-taste-professional-world-santa-fe
91351 as http://kunm.orgFri, 14 Jul 2017 15:54:00 +0000Young Composers Get A Taste Of The Professional World In Santa FeSpencer BeckwithThe world thrives on innovation, but what role can innovation play in an art form based on tradition? Folk art is about traditional materials, traditional techniques, and generations-old ideas of craft and style. The organizers of The International Folk Art Market | Santa Fe struck a balance between innovation and tradition by creating a new section for the 2017 Market, taking place July 14-16 on Museum Hill. Judith Espinar, who co-founded the event in 2004, says that this new section, Innovation Inspiration, originated with requests from the artists themselves. For us, she says, "it was just a matter of opening the door a little wider, listening to the artists, and figuring out how they validly would like to move forward with their traditions." In this longer version of her interview, Judith discusses two hand-crafted pieces from Guatemala she brought with her to KUNM. One fits the traditional definition of folk art and the other shows how a community of folk artists have usedCan The Definition Of Folk Art Evolve?http://kunm.org/post/can-definition-folk-art-evolve
91067 as http://kunm.orgFri, 07 Jul 2017 15:45:00 +0000Can The Definition Of Folk Art Evolve?Spencer BeckwithSubhankar Banerjee is an internationally known writer, environmental activist and scholar. He is also an extraordinary photographer and has said that photography, for him, is a portal to activism and knowledge. Several of his large-scale photographs of Arctic Alaska are now on display in Long Environmentalism in the Near North, Subhankar Banerjee: Activism – Photographs – Writing at the UNM Art Museum in Albuquerque. Banerjee heads the Land Arts of the American West program at UNM, where he also teaches art and ecology. "Art for me and activism for me got enmeshed very early in my life," he says. "Art has a strong role to play in helping us change direction, in helping us to understand and then take action." In this longer version of the interview, Professor Banerjee talks specifically about two of the photographs in the UNM exhibit, "Caribou Tracks on Coal Seams II" and "Known and Unknown Tracks," and he discusses the surprising relationship in the exhibit between its photographs andThe Photographs (And More) Of Subhankar Banerjeehttp://kunm.org/post/photographs-and-more-subhankar-banerjee
90294 as http://kunm.orgFri, 23 Jun 2017 15:32:00 +0000The Photographs (And More) Of Subhankar BanerjeeSpencer BeckwithFour years ago, the Santa Fe Symphony collaborated with the local think tank, the Santa Fe Institute , on a program for all ages that combined music with entertaining educational demonstrations. The Majesty of Music & Mathematics caused a lot of excitement and it will return to the Lensic Center on June 19. The performance will be taped for broadcast on New Mexico PBS. Back in 2013, the host of the program, Santa Fe Institute mathematician and scientist Dr. Cris Moore, explained to KUNM that "mathematics and music are speaking to the same parts of the brain." They're both "about discovering patterns and the tension between predictability, variety and surprise."Finding The Link Between Music And Mathhttp://kunm.org/post/finding-link-between-music-and-math
90059 as http://kunm.orgFri, 09 Jun 2017 16:00:00 +0000Finding The Link Between Music And MathSpencer BeckwithWith digital projections and multi-channel videos, electronic artist Marcus Zúñiga is offering us a unique look at the cosmos. His installation Ya Veo (Spanish for "I see") is on view June 10 and 11 at the No Land Art Space on the Santa Fe Plaza, as part of the opening weekend for the 2017 Currents New Media Festival. For Marcus, a 2013 UNM graduate, inspiration comes from the imagery, drawings and codices of Aztec astronomy. He hopes that Ya Veo will help visitors "learn something new about something they're familiar with -- seeing the night sky but seeing it in a different way." In this longer version of the conversation, Marcus talks about what draws him to video as a form of artistic expression and how his personal response to the night sky changed over the two years he spent working on Ya Veo .A New Way To See The Night Skyhttp://kunm.org/post/new-way-see-night-sky
89705 as http://kunm.orgFri, 02 Jun 2017 15:21:00 +0000A New Way To See The Night SkySpencer BeckwithDistinguished Professor of History at the University of New Mexico Dr. Paul A. Hutton specializes in U.S. history and history of the American West. But he is also a scholar of film and popular culture, and he has curated an exhibit on view through August at the Albuquerque Museum, Hollywood Southwest: New Mexico in Film and Television . Dr. Hutton explains that New Mexico's brilliant light and reliably good weather, along with a variety of usable locations, have drawn filmmakers to the state since the earliest days of the silent era. In this longer version of the interview, Dr. Hutton lists several films that give a sense of how Hollywood has used New Mexico as a location over the years: Ride The Pink Horse (filmed in 1947 in Santa Fe), Salt of the Earth (1954 in Silver City), Lonely Are The Brave (1962 in Albuquerque) and Ace In The Hole (1951 in Gallup).A History Of Hollywood In The Southwesthttp://kunm.org/post/history-hollywood-southwest
89103 as http://kunm.orgFri, 26 May 2017 15:54:00 +0000A History Of Hollywood In The SouthwestSpencer BeckwithThe colors and patterns she creates are inspired by the landscape surrounding her studio in White Rock, in the mountains south of Los Alamos. There, Anne Podlesak hand knits with yarn she spins and dyes herself. Her work will be featured May 19-21 in the Albuquerque Fiber Arts Council Fiesta at EXPO New Mexico. Anne's knitting, dyeing and design business is part of a global move toward "slow handcraft." For her, it's "a great way to focus in on that slow pace of creating something with your hands, something that's exactly you." In this more complete version of the conversation, Anne describes the kind of garments, yarns and patterns that she'll be exhibiting in the 2017 Fiber Arts Fiesta.Slowing Down, With Two Sticks And A Bit Of Stringhttp://kunm.org/post/slowing-down-two-sticks-and-bit-string
88650 as http://kunm.orgFri, 12 May 2017 16:03:34 +0000Slowing Down, With Two Sticks And A Bit Of String